A Whole New World.. sort of.

For my handful of readers.. here I am! I recently told someone very dear to me that I don’t have much incentive to keep this thing going because I only have three readers. He assured me that he only knew of two. So for the two of you.. here we go:

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 6 weeks since I arrived in Tokyo. The initial days were all a bit of a blur and now I find myself nearly settled in my apartment, enjoying my commute to work and managing to get through my workday even though I still don’t know some of the girls names! I’m working on it.. I’m working on it..

It’s funny how quickly one can adapt to life in a new country and a job at a new school. The transition has been surprisingly easy so far and for that I’m grateful. Sure it’s a whole lot of learning and being resigned to the fact that I will be asking the dumb questions for the next little while but with that also comes the opportunity to play the “New Girl” card.. and so it isn’t always a horrible experience.

I am really enjoying working at an All Girl’s School.. I wasn’t sure how I would find it but the girls are really sweet and motivated and it’s amazing how much you can get done when you leave the boys out of the equation. On a side note.. I used to think that the reason classes were loud was “almost entirely because of the boys” but I’m finding this to be untrue. Girls make a lot of noise!

In terms of teaching it is nice to see an all girl environment. The students are generally comfortable and confident and also far less distracted. I’ve noticed that the younger girls are really rather secure and in my older classes we are able to have discussions that were never possible in a co-ed class of 17 year olds. It’s been a refreshing change.

Also this year is one in which I find myself teaching quite a few Middle School classes. I used to be frightened of anyone under the age of 14 but I absolutely adore the 7^th graders at my school. I have two sections of 7^th Grade English as well as a Grade 7/8 Drama Elective so I’m pretty much surrounded! I’m having a great time though and really enjoying the change of scenery.

Tokyo continues to impress me as a city. I’m enjoying getting to know the culture and exploring different parts of the city. Overall it’s very safe and comfortable here yet the strangest things happen or pass by and so that keeps me forever entertained.

I’ve been church shopping for the past 4 or 5 weeks and there are still a few possible options to go. We’ll see what happens next…

So yes, a month and a couple weeks in and so far I’m pretty happy to be here!

A Few Photos to Follow Shortly...